Free Press wins third national award for First Amendment work

Aug. 7, 2011

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Free Press Staff Report

The Burlington Free Press was one of two national winners in the Society of Professional Journalists annual award to preserve and strengthen the First Amendment.

This was the third national award this year for the Burlington Free Press. The newspaper previously was a First Amendment winner in awards sponsored by the Scripps Foundation and the Associated Press Managing Editors.

Mark Prendergast of Stars and Stripes also was a First Amendment winner in the SPJ contest.

Winners will be recognized Sept. 27 in New Orleans.

The Free Press was recognized for a three-year campaign for open government that had a far-reaching effect on government transparency. Since 2008, the newspaper has written more than 120 editorials on the topic. This year, Vermont passed an open records reform law for only the second time since the law was adopted in the mid-1970s.

The SPJ said, "The honest and forthright editorials of the Free Press have led to several changes in the law, shining a light on government activities and asserting the power of a free press."

Editorial Page Editor Aki Soga has been at the heart of the newspaper's efforts, writing the bulk of the editorials on open government.

"This award really is a credit to the entire newsroom," Executive Editor Michael Townsend said, citing efforts by reporters and editors to bring into public view the actions of state and local government.

According to the SPJ, Mark Prendergast serves as the ombudsman for Stars and Stripes, a daily military paper owned by the Department of Defense but with explicit protections from government censorship. His efforts to defend the rights of a free press make him a champion of the First Amendment in regard to WikiLeaks' disclosures of U.S. diplomatic cables.

Nominees for the SPJ First Amendment award are not limited to journalists. Government officials and private organizations and citizens are also eligible.

Previous SPJ winners since 1975 have included The New York Times, the American Civil Liberties Union, Supreme Court Justice William Brennan, CBS reporter Daniel Schorr, Allen Neuharth, who was chairman and chief executive officer of Gannett Co. Inc., and Vermont's senior U.S. senator, Patrick Leahy.

Founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi, SPJ promotes the free flow of information vital to a well-informed citizenry; works to inspire and educate the next generation of journalists; and protects First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and press.